Zippers are often provided on luggage or other bags to access and seal luggage compartments. Each zipper typically includes a zipper track disposed around at least a portion of a compartment, and at least one zipper slider with at least one zipper pull tab associated with the zipper track. Luggage users may in some cases wish to restrict access to a zippered compartment. To restrict access to a compartment enclosed by a zipper, a user may affix a lock to the luggage to secure the compartment. Various luggage locks have been developed to secure zippered compartments, such as a padlock that may be placed through apertures in zipper pull tabs or through hasps on zipper sliders, and mounted locks that secure a single zipper's pull tab(s) to the side of a luggage case. These locks may have an associated key and/or associated combination or code that, when used, allows the lock to be selectively opened by a user or other authorized person. Many of these locks, however, are only able to secure a single zippered compartment, whereas many luggage cases today have two or more zippered compartments. Should a user wish to secure two compartments, two or more different locks may be required.
The present disclosure advantageously provides multiple lock systems for luggage cases that may overcome the foregoing drawbacks. For example, the locking mechanisms described herein may selectively couple two or more zipper closure mechanisms via a single locking device. In this manner, for example, a single lock, potentially with a single key or a single combination, may be used to secure a plurality of compartments or pockets in a luggage case.
Documents that may be related to the present disclosure in that they include lock systems include: U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,832, U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,930, WO 2008/034006, U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,455, EP 1,510,146, FR 1,032,266, U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,171, U.S. Pat. No. 6,941,777, U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,028, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,631,524.